Pennsylvania has a budget deadline—half of the stop-gap budget enacted in June runs out at the end of November. If Governor Wolf and the General Assembly do not reach an agreement by November 30, the state will not be able to carry out critical tasks or pay state workers. Education and human services will suffer.

Budget negotiations are happening now, and we need your help to ensure we don’t see drastic budget cuts to key programs and services. Take action TODAY to tell your state legislator that it’s time to address the needs of Pennsylvanians and, at the very least, make no irresponsible budget cuts in such a crucial time of recovery for our state.  

Democratic and Republican senators appear close to a budget compromise that avoids a budget impasse at this dangerous time, though it leaves many problems unresolved. Most of the budget is flat-funded with increases to meet Medical Assistance caseloads and a few other mandatory expenditures.

This budget does not meet the needs of Pennsylvanians who are suffering from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic crisis it created. Front-line workers; small businesses, especially in the hospitality and entertainment industries; those who are threatened with losing their homes; and many other Pennsylvanians are not getting the support they need from the state.

The budget agreement also appears to rely on more than $3 billion in one-time revenues that will not recur in the next fiscal year, including the CARES Act funds. Instead of relying on one-time funding, we would like to see our state fix our upside-down tax system that currently taxes the top 1% at half the rate of those in the middle, and lets 73% of corporations escape taxes entirely. We need corporations and the richest Pennsylvanians—who have seen their income  and wealth increase during the pandemic— to pay more, while cutting taxes on working people, so that we can invest in recovery and our communities.

In many areas of the budget, we already invest too little. Not only do children, seniors, and working people suffer, but the long-term productivity of our workers and businesses decline relative to that of other states.

No matter where we live, what we look like, whether we are native-born or immigrants, or whether we are struggling or getting by, the COVID-19 recession is a threat to all of us. We need the state government to do more for families and small businesses to meet that threat. Take action, and tell your legislators to meet the needs of the moment, and insist on recurring revenue and needed investments to keep us safe in this moment, and provide stability for the future